2014 NFL Draft Spotlight: Donte Moncrief, WR Ole Miss
Derrik Klassen, Rosterwatch.com NFL Draft Analyst

Image via Donte Moncrief Twitter, Design by @IsraelTavor

Few pure, pass-catching wide receivers are as impressive as Donte Moncrief.

The Ole Miss wideout won’t wow you with the ball in his hands, but you can count on him to be there and make any catch. Although he had to deal with QB Bo Wallace, the Johnny Manziel clone (no, that’s not a good thing), Moncrief still made plays, and has opened the eyes of NFL scouts nationwide.

The first thing that an evaluator will notice about Moncrief is his nasty double move. Against LSU in 2012, he clearly burned the DB twice off the juke, yet Bo Wallace under-threw Moncrief both times he broke open using it. The first throw was completely uncatchable, but Moncrief actually managed to catch the second, although he was forced to slow his stride, costing Ole Miss a sure touchdown.

Being physical and adjusting your body to the ball is a valuable trait that all evaluators are trained to look for in a receiver. Moncrief is arguably the best 2014 WR prospect in that category.

In the LSU game, Moncrief tracked the ball and used his arms and positioning to “nudge” the CB off so only he could make the catch—a diving catch, in fact. On one notable instance against Texas, Moncrief had the CB right along with him in a boundary motor/mirror technique. Moncrief waited patiently and then jumped over the CB to high-point a contested ball and even muscled through two defenders for the touchdown.

Even when double-covered—like he was for another big reception that he made early in his game against Mississippi State—Moncrief can still be relied on to make the play. Although he doesn’t possess much elusiveness, Moncrief still has a decent, slightly above average amount of straight-line speed.

While Sammy Watkins and Marqise Lee seem to be the consensus top two WRs poised to enter the 2014 NFL draft, I currently consider Moncrief superior to Marqise Lee, and quite close to Sammy Watkins. All three are incredibly talented WRs, but don’t be surprised when Moncrief erupts in the media as an “elite” 2014 WR prospect.